This invention relates to improved fluid to dispensers of the type used to dispense liquid soap from a flexible pouch having a tortuous discharge passageway. An example of a pouch of this nature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,245.
Fluid dispensers for dispensing small quantities of liquid soap from a pouch are well known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,876 and 4,564,127 are directed to typical fluid dispensers which include upper and lower jaws which can be manipulated to sequentially open and close to meter a predetermined quantity of fluid from the container. Difficulty has been experienced with this type of container in obtaining a tight seal between both upper and lower jaws.
Other dispensers use hard swash plates or cams having hard, curved surfaces to compress a portion of the pouch for expelling liquid therefrom. A drawback to such arrangements are that the swash plates or cams do not ride smoothly down the pouch since the surfaces thereof are hard with the result that the cam or swash plate jiggles side-to-side causing uneven pressure across the discharge portion of the pouch. Another drawback with current dispensers employing flexible dispenser pouches is that the pouches are designed to be hung from pegs or suspended in the dispenser housing. This necessitates wasting time aligning the dispenser pegs with holes in the pouch. Further, at present the only indication that a fluid pouch is nearly empty is when a reduced volume of fluid is being discharged from the pouch.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a fluid dispenser for dispensing liquids such as soap detergents, foodstuffs and the like which provides smooth fluid expulsion and which is provided with an indicator for indicating that the pouch is nearing empty.